Once Upon Another Time
by Phantasma'sRose
Summary: What happens when a phangirl lands herself in 1895 Paris at the Garnier Opera House? What happens when she messes up the lives of three people in particular? What happens ten years later in Coney Island? Will there ever be a Phantasma? Will there ever be a Gustave? (No of course not!) A mix of Leroux's Phantom and Lloyd Webbers' Phantom.
1. It All Started With A Sleepover

Rose's POV

I slung my case-it over my shoulder and waited for Annalee to finish putting on her boots.

"We should go see Divergent tonight. I think we can both agree that was an awesome movie." She said, placing her tennis shoes on her leaning tower of books. Today was Friday and it was finally the end of the day. Friday is always movie night for us. Either she comes to my house, I got to her house, or we go to the movies to see a new movie. Last week was her turn to choose and we saw Divergent for the first time, but this week was my turn and I have no plans watching that again. True, it was good, but I have an even better movie in mind.

"Not even. I only went a week without watching Phantom and I practically broke down. Even if they totally did the worst casting in the world. Maybe I'll introduce you to Love Never Dies…"

Annalee rolled her eyes at me. "Really? How many times have you seen that movie already?"

"A hundred times and counting." I teased. We walked down the hallway to our lockers. Annalee broke off and headed to hers while I walked to mine. Amy, like always, was already at hers.

"Hey, Amy. Do you want to come over for movie night?" I asked, shoving my books in my locker and getting out my book bag. She smiled at me. She is always chock full of happiness and… ducks.

"Sure, you'll have to pick me up though, my parents…"

"Got it, your parents aren't home or something. Isn't this routine or something? We need to have a party when you get a car." She rolled her eyes at me. Wow, I guess I really induce eye-rolling.

"Yes, well, I'm sorry I didn't get a car right when I got my license like some people." That was the one thing I could rub in their faces. My parents got me a hunter green Jeep when I passed my test. I love it to death! "By the way, what are we watching on this fine evening?" she asked breaking out her British accent.

"It will be a surprise for you…" I said and turned to run away. I heard her calling me in frustration when I was a little ways away. I smiled. Amy has never seen Phantom. That is the main thing I tease her about. If I am the only one who appreciates good music, then so be it. When I made it to the parking lot, Annalee was already leaning against my Jeep.

"Where were you?" she called across the parking lot. I walked over and unlocked the doors.

"I invited Amy to come over."

"And?" Annalee hopped in the passenger side.

"What do you think? She can't come because of her parents or something." I said backing out of the parking space. Annalee let out a disappointed sigh.

"Which is why we're going to pick her up later."

She smacked me on the arm. "I thought she wasn't coming! God, I swear…"

"C'mon, it was just a joke. You're the one who fell for it."

"Whatever." Of course. More eye rolling. We stopped at her house to pick up some clothes for overnight.

"What do you do here anyway?" I asked.

"Dance Moms, Dance Moms, and more Dance Moms." She replied, digging through her drawers for some pajamas.

"Oh, so you can be Dance Moms obsessive, but I can't be Phantom of the Opera obsessed? That's cold. Come on, we need to pick Amy up. She's gonna think we died or something."

She swung a bag over shoulder. "There's that happy spirit you always radiate, Rose." It was my turn to roll my eyes. I pushed her toward the car and started the engine. When we got to Amy's, I walked up to her door and rang the doorbell. She answered the door in her red penguin .

"Ready?"

"Yup!" She took her bag and dragged it behind her. When she saw annalee in the front seat she pouted.

"Backseat?! Not fair!"

"Totally fair." I replied pushing her in the backseat. When we pulled up to my driveway we all got out and I unlocked the front door. Fortunately, my parents were away on some business trip, but then there's my siblings…

"Rose is home!" I heard Emma yell as soon as I opened the door.

"Yes, and we're using the living room tonight, so don't even step foot in there." I yelled back.

"Fine with me!" she yelled again and I heard a door slam shut.

"That was easy." I said leading Annalee and Amy to the Living room. I headed to our bookshelf full of movies and pulled out my copy of Phantom.

"You never told me what we were watching." Amy said from behind me.

"And I told you it was a surprise." I retorted. I put the DVD in the player and pressed play. Amy sat on the floor on a sleeping bag and Annalee took one of the couches with a blanket thrown over her blue .

"I'm going to get my P.J.s on too. Don't start it without me." I ran upstairs and changed into my fuzzy black pants with red music notes on them and my Beauty and the Beast t-shirt. Very appropriate for the occasion, I think. Before going back downstairs I checked on Emma.

"Lights out Emma!" I said, walking into her room. She crawled out of her closet. Apparently her closet is some kind of fairytale land according to her.

"Please, just a couple more minutes?" she gave me her best puppy dog eyes.

"Nope. Mom said eight thirty and that's when you're going to bed."

"Fine." She said stomping over to her dresser and getting out a nightgown.

"Look, mom will be home tomorrow, so you can complain to her when she gets back." She jumped into bed, ignoring the statement I just made. I turned out the lights and headed back downstairs.

"Goodnight!" I called to her.

"Night." I walked down the stairs and took the remaining couch just as the commercials ended. As soon as the menu came on Amy groaned and smashed her head in a pillow she stole from the couch.

"Oh god" I heard her muffled voice through the pillow.

"Hey, you're the one who said they were coming."

"Yeah, well I didn't exactly know that we were going to watch this." She said, raising her head from the pillow right when I pressed play.

"Oh well…" Annalee said. "At least you had a choice. I already told my mom I was coming home with her. No backing out then."

"Oh, come off it. Is this really so bad?"

"YES!" they said simultaneously.

I shook my head with a smile and turned my attention to the screen.

After _lots_ of popcorn Amy and Annalee fell asleep, leaving me to watch Love Never Dies alone. I flipped open the case to the sequel and switched out the movies. Finally some great singers! A stage production is better than any movie any day in my book. About halfway through, during The Beauty Underneath, I dozed off, my eyelids becoming heavier and heavier.

"The girl is awake!" is the first thing I heard when I woke up. My head was throbbing and when I reached up to feel my head I felt a bump. That would explain my blurry vision. When my vision cleared I sat up and looked around.

"Mama!" a blonde at my bedside called out.

"Quiet child! I'm coming." was the reply I heard.

"How do you feel?" asked a woman who was approaching. She looked an awful lot like… Madam Giry! Shocked, I looked at the blonde girl sitting in the chair next to me. It was Meg!

"You were hit by the manager's carriage, my dear. You have a nasty bump on your head. Are you alright?" repeated Madam Giry.

"Yes, I'm fine." I replied.

"You were apparently coming to audition for a chorus member, for you were holding an application when it happened right outside the opera house, Miss Rose Johnson." I didn't know what she was talking about. I don't remember filling out anything and last time I checked, I have two left feet. If Annalee were trying out, that would be believable. She has been taking dance since she was four years old. Either way, I needed someplace to stay, so I nodded my head.

"Usually, we don't give any places in the dormitories until you are given a role in the opera, but since Moncharmin was careless enough to hit you, he has offered a place, nonetheless." She said. It was more of a demand than an offer.

"Meg, bring the poor girl to your dorm." She turned her attention back to me as Meg helped me up. "You will be spending tonight with Meg and Christine until tomorrow's auditions. By the way, I'm Madam Giry, the ballet instructor. If you do make it, I'm sure I will be seeing you soon."

Meg led me down several hallways and rooms before we entered a room with two bunk beds in it. A girl with curly chocolate locks was laying on one of the bottom bunks and reading a book. She looked up when we entered and sat up.

"Oh, Meg, is this the girl whom the managers hit?" when Meg nodded she stood up and held up her hand.

"I'm Christine Daaé. What's your name?" I took her hand.

"Hi, I'm Rose Johnson." Meg crossed her arms, then unfolded them and held out one to Christine.

"Hello, I'm Meg Giry." She said. A giggle spilled from Christine's lips.

"Wong person, Meg." She said and turned her to face me.

"Hello Meg." I said before she could repeat herself. "Are you related to Madame Giry?" I asked. Of course I already knew the answer, but I didn't want to freak anybody out.

"My mother. She's too sour, don't you think? I love her, of course, but she is strict much too often."

"Come on, since your mother is so strict, I'm sure she'll want us in bed. We're almost a half an hour late. Thanks to you." Christine said to me teasingly. I knew why she was so eager to go to bed. And I couldn't wait until I met him.


	2. Meeting The Opera Ghost and Auditions

Rose's POV

"Here, you'll need this." Christine said, throwing me a nightgown along with a chemise.

"Yes, you do dress weird wherever you're from…" Meg said looking me up and down.

I looked down at my pajamas. I forgot how crazy I must look to them. It's not every day that a girl in the 1800s is wearing pants. Or ever for that matter.

"What's Beauty and the Beast?" Christine stared at my shirt. I realized how much she could relate to the story. She must be thinking about Erik. The beast was, after all, holding a rose. I decided to not tell them about the future.

"Oh, that's just an opera from where I come from." No, it is not. There is a line between opera and musical, and that is a musical.

"Where are you from anyway?"

"Ummm… let's just say I'm not from here." The girls both gave me weird looks.

"Whatever, just change." Meg said. I walked behind the privacy screen and put on the garments Christine lent me. When I walked out, Meg threw a pillow at me and pointed to the top bunk above Christine.

"Sleep, mama will have our heads if we don't get to bed." she said. I climbed the ladder and hopped into the bed.

"Goodnight, Rose" Christine said.

Meg threw another pillow at her. They may be form the 1800s, but they still act like today's girlfriends. I stayed awake for another two hours, waiting for a special appearance. After Meg's breathing became heavy Christine got out of bed and looked at the clock that was sitting on the dresser in the corner of the room. Looking up at my bed, she slipped on her shoes. She walked over to Meg's bed, then mine, making sure we were asleep. I faked some heavy breathing so she thought I was asleep. She then crept back to the dresser and pulled out a rose with a black ribbon tied around it. Wow, Andrew Lloyd Webber was scarily accurate. Christine walked out and closed the door behind her.

I jumped out of the bunk and hit the floor softly. Knowing that this would happen, I wore my shoes to bed. Quickly, I made my way to the door and closed it as soft as I could. This would take major quietness. This is the Phantom of the Opera we're talking about. I followed Christine down several corridors and had to hide behind numerous tables and statues that were standing about when she looked over her shoulder. When we came to the auditorium, she walked up to the stage and stood in the center.

"I got your gift, angel." She said looking all around her as if expecting someone to come out at any moment.

"Good. Are you ready for your lessons, Christine?" a baritone voice boomed through the auditorium.

"Yes, angel." Christine replied to the disembodied voice.

"Then we begin." A violin's music flooded the room, starting a scale for Christine to sing along to. Christine sang along to every note until an earsplitting E6. Yes, I am enough of a geek to know exactly what note Christine's highest note is.

"You did well, Christine. That was your highest note, yet."

"Thank you, angel. I should go; Meg and Rose might wake soon."

"Rose? I've never heard of her? Meg yes, but Rose…"

"She's new. Monsieur Moncharmin and Monsieur Firmin hit her with their carriage. She is staying with us until the auditions tomorrow. If she makes it, she will be our new roommate."

"Of course with all their incompetence already, they must run over a girl to prove how stupid they are. Must we have those managers? I'll admit Lefevre was not the best, but he was far better than them. "

"Angel…"

"You may go Christine." I hurried out of the auditorium and ran up the corridors that led to our room. I jumped in bed just before Christine opened the door. I let out a silent breath. That was close. I pressed my head into my pillow and restrained myself from letting out a phangirl squeal that wanted to erupt from my stomach. That was not as hard as I thought, for the moment my head hit the pillow, I fell into a sleep full of Phantom dreams.

"WAKE UP, ROSE!" Meg screamed smothering me with a pillow. I shot up and used my own pillow as a shield from her blows.

"Very subtle wake up call, Meg."

"Thank you." She beamed proudly. She turned around and reached for her hairbrush. As soon as she turned her back I shot my pillow at her arm, causing the brush to fall out of her hand. She turned around with her mouth open.

"Oh so it's war you want!" she shouted and grabbed the pillow off the floor. She walked over to me with her hands up in surrender.

"Yes" I replied.

"Then its war you'll get!" she tackled me with the pillow.

A resonating bang brought us out of our pillow civil war. We both looked up to see Madam Giry standing in the doorway with her cane in hand. Meg immediately got up off of me and placed my pillow back on my bed.

"Meg Giry, are you a dancer?" Meg nodded meekly.

"Then go dance!" Meg scurried out the door.

"Auditions start in an hour, my dear. You should be getting ready." I nodded and grabbed the ballerina outfit Christine left for me. When Madam Giry left, I put on the outfit and did my hair in a bun. I saw my handbag lying on the dresser and picked it up. Meg must have brought it with her when I was 'hit'. Why did it end up here? I didn't have it with me during the movie… Oh well, don't argue with time travel. The clock told me I had a half an hour left before auditions, so I pulled out my phone and pressed the home button. Of course it wouldn't turn on; it wasn't invented yet. I put it back and dug in my bag for something else to pass the time with. I came up with my copy of Le Fantôme de l'Opéra. I swiveled my head around to make sure nobody was watching and plopped on my bed and flipped to the end of the book.

"Time for auditions, Rose! They already started! What are you reading?" I looked up and saw Christine sticking her head in the room. I threw the book down on the bed and jumped off the bunk, glancing at the clock and seeing that I was indeed three minutes late.

"C'mon then…" I said, grabbing her hand and pulling her along behind her.

"How do you know where the stage is?" she asked stumbling along behind me.

"Ummm… I went exploring last night." I replied without thinking. Christine stopped in her tracks.

"Y-you went t-to the auditorium last night?" she stammered.

"Yeah, why? C'mon I'm going to be even later…" Christine seemed to be assured by my acted cluelessness, and started walking again. _Oh god… I'm sure they'll have a nice conversation tonight about me. _I thought.

When we got to the stage I stepped behind all of the other ballerinas with Christine, earning a death glare from Madam Giry. Luckily, instead of preparing a dance for them we had to copy the dance moves from a song from the next opera, Hannibal. _Wow, I got here just in time… Not only for auditions, but for the entire Phantom story._

I found dancing here way easier than it would be in real life. Perhaps my dancing skills were enhanced when I went through time. The thing that made the dancing difficult is we were dancing in chains. Do not be fooled by how easily the ballerinas do it on stage or in the movie. After tripping over the chains twice, I struck the end position, my chest heaving with my ragged breaths.

Then I heard the devil herself approaching the stage though she wasn't even in the same room.

"No, no, no! I will not do it! I hate zee part and if I do, zee phantom will probably drop a sandbag on me again!" shouted Carlotta tearing into the auditorium. _You're not too far off _I thought.

"Oh great" I heard Christine mumble under her breath. She reached down and unclasped the shackle from her ankle then came over to me and showed me how to do the same.

"Who is that?" I asked. While I was working on the bonds on my own ankles.

"That's Carlotta. She's the prima donna."

"She sounds like a pain."

"That's only the tip of the iceberg." she groaned.

"The casting for the Hannibal ballet is Jammes, Giry, Daaé, Johnson, Sorreli…" and other random people whom I didn't recognize from the book, movie, or musical. I breathed a sigh of relief when my name was announced. That means I'll be staying here until I find a way to get home. In the meantime, there's always Erik to meet.

**Hey guys, so this is a new story. I forgot to put a note on the first chapter. My best friends were in the first chapter. :) shout out to SaphireBlueSea for being my first follower and Beauties Who Dance for being my first reviewer! Love you guys! Possibly going to be a Love Never Dies thing… I don't know… any suggestions or comments… and just so I don't have to keep explaining, Rose is going to be asking questions to which she already knows the answers, so… R&R PLEASE! :) **


	3. A Close Encounter

Rose's POV

Weeks of exhausting ballet rehearsals passed and we were ready to perform Hannibal. Of course days before Carlotta had her fiasco with the falling backdrop and Christine was recruited by Meg. She was even more nervous to perform during the dress rehearsals than the musical made her out to be. To my surprise, Christine didn't say anything about me to Erik, so that was one less thing to worry about.

Tonight was opening night and we had the entire day off to do as we wish before the performance. I decided to take a full tour of the opera house and get to know the whole building, not just the dorms and the auditorium. Of course the first place I wanted to go was to Erik's underground lair, but I like my throat the way it is and prefer it to be noose free, so I went to the next best place. The chapel. I scaled the entire floor level to find a staircase down, humming Love Never Dies to myself the whole while. He didn't know the songs, right? It's ten years later, for God's sake! A while later, I found a staircase that was similar to the one in the movie, and took the spiral path to the chapel. When I stepped off the last step, I saw a vast expanse of stone, candles, and stained glass. I walked the perimeter of the room and stopped in front of Gustave Daaé's candle. He was more handsome than anybody could expect, and anybody would be proud to call him their father. A gust cool air blew around the room and I shivered. I froze. I'm in the basement, how can there be any wind? Two leather bound hands wrapped around my neck.

"How do you know that song?" he asked.

Without meaning to, my humming slipped into The Music of the Night. The longer I didn't respond the tighter his hand squeezed. I started to gasp, trying to get enough air into my lungs.

"B-b-book." I managed to wheeze from my throat.

"It's not in any books, girl." Erik said. He squeezed my throat tighter and let go, still holding my hands behind my back. I coughed a few times, grasped my neck, and took deep breaths. If he Erik wasn't holding my hands, I would have collapsed on the spot.

"I-I'll show you."

"You just won't stop lying, will you?" Erik said, twisting my arms into a painful position.

"I'm not." I said, flinching from the pain.

"Tell you what, you show me this book, and I might let you go."

I nodded, the only response I could muster. He let me go. I rubbed my wrists where they were red from the pressure.

"Go, I will follow, but try to escape and you will be sorry." I picture his noose wrapped around my neck and shivered. That won't happen if I just do as he asks, I think. I slowly ascend the steps thinking to myself the consequences of showing his the book. What if he tries to fix everything? Then there won't be a Phantasma or possibly a Gustave. I doubt that if Erik didn't let her go, there would be a Gustave.

I knew that Erik was following me even if I couldn't see him. One of his perks of being the Phantom is being able to stalk people wihtout them knowing. I made my way to the dorm, almost losing my way a few times, and stopped in front of the door, reaching for the handle.

"What are you doing here?" he asked behind me. I could feel him towering over my back. "This is Christine's dormitory." I shuddered and racked in a breath.

"Yes, monsieur, but it is also mine." I said with a shaky voice.

"You're Rose, aren't you?" It was more of a statement than a question. "Christine spoke of you once. She told me how strange you seemed. I cannot say I disagree with her, now." he said in an almost threatening tone. I shivered and opened the door, not bothering to comment for fear of setting off his temper, I knew he was probably on edge still from hearing a random girl humming a song Christine had never even heard... yet.

I walked into the room, thankfully finding it empty. Meg was probably still shopping in town and Christine told me she was off to her father's grave. I grabbed my purse from the top bunk and hauled it down. I glanced behind me, seeing him for the first time. He was definitely Gerard with looks, standing there with his arms crossed, looking at me with his golden eyes that burned into mine, but I highly doubt he sounds anything like the Gerard Phantom. Perhaps Ramin or Michael. I secretly hoped he sounded like Ben Lewis. He was my favorite Phantom. I turned my attention back to the task at hand and pulled the book out of my black and red bag, hesitating to turn back to face him.

"Well, let's see it then." he said impatiently. I turned and showed him the cover. His eyes widened as he took it from my hands.

"H-how do they know?" he stammered, reading the back cover of the paperback.

"Well..." I couldn't find any words. What would happen if I told him the truth? I'm from the future. "Um... I'm kind of not from here, you see..."

"Obviosly." he sneered gripping the book with his leather gloved hands.

"A-and when I mean I'm not from here... I-I mean like, not ...this time here. I'm not even from 1985. I live in 2014. Technically I'm not even born until 1998. In 1909 they published that book. Later they made a mu…" I caught myself. "an opera, at least 25 movie adaptations, and a sequel."

"What's a movie?"

"It's like pictures, but they move and have sound."

He stared at me, his face emotionless.

"You don't believe me." I said.

"Of course I don't believe you. Would you believe me if I told you I was from the future would you believe me?"

I thought about it. "Then, no. Now, yes." He still didn't believe me.

I sighed and wondered if anything in my purse could prove that I was indeed from the future. My first thought was my iPhone, but I'd already tried that, and it didn't work. Then I thought of my pajamas. They probably weren't as solid proof as an iPhone, but they might work. I went over to the dresser that we all shared and opened the bottom drawer: my drawer.

"What are you doing?" Erik asked, back in his defensive mode.

"Proving myself."

I pulled out my black fuzzy pants and Beauty and the Beast tee-shirt. I pressed them to my nose briefly and breathed in. They still smelled faintly like my house. Then a thought occurred to me. I'd been gone for nearly a month. My family was probably going mad trying to find me. A tear escaped one of my eyes as I realized how homesick I was.

"Well?" a voice behind me snapped me back to reality. Well, not really reality, but as close as I am currently going to get to it. I wiped the tear away with my sleeve and stood up. I handed him the clothes. He unfolded them and looked at them, his eyes lingering on the tee.

"What's Beauty and the Beast?" he asked.

"It's sort of like an opera where I come from."

"The future?" he asked. Something in that question tipped me off that he was starting to believe me.

"Yes."

"What is it about?" he asked. I should've seen _that_ coming.

I explained to him the plot of the musical. At first he seemed disgusted by the way Beast treated Belle, but he grew to understand him when I told him about the enchanted rose. He was definitely satisfied with the ending though. I decided not to tell Erik about the transformation, to save him from some false hope. Beast got Belle in the end though, right, even without the change.

"I must go. Tell anybody about this and you will regret it." he said to me, picking up my Phantom book.

"What are you doing with that book?" I asked, although I had a feeling I knew what.

"I'm going to read it, of course."

Oh no. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! He could not read that! I grabbed the book from his hand and ran from the room before he could react. I didn't hear him behind me as I ran to the only room that I knew where it was that had a fire: the library. I knew he was there though, following through the walls. I ran as fast as I could, almost tripping over random statues that leaped out from behind corners. When I reached the library, I pulled opened the double doors and flew inside. I didn't bother to close them behind me, it would only cost time. Practically tearing through the entire library, I reached the big stone fireplace at the opposite end of the room, and threw the book into the flames.

_Wow, the flames really have consumed you…_ I thought ironically.

I felt something wrap around my throat. This time it wasn't hands. No. this time it was a rope. _Damnit! You'd think after seeing the movie, and musical over a hundred times, you'd remember to keep your hand at the level of your eyes._

I tugged at the rope that was squeezing tighter every moment, but I couldn't get my fingers under it. I let my hands drop to my sides and waited. Waited for death to take me as I could breathe less and less with every passing second. Death however, never came. The rope stayed at the same tightness.

"What did you do…" Erik said behind me. I could feel his heated breath on my ear and shivered.

"Why don't you just kill me?" I asked in a gravelly voice.

"Oh, I would. And I want to, very much. But Christine would never forgive me."

"She doesn't even know you're a man. How could she blame it on her perfect angel?" I spat. Not my smartest moment in a life or death situation.

"Don't try me, girl." He said tightening the rope until I almost couldn't breathe.

"I have a name."

"I won't dignify you by using it." He snarled lifting the rope from my neck. I gasped and collapsed on the carpeted floor of the library, clutching at my throat, feeling the sore line that was surely red.

"You will speak to no one about this. Next time, I'll live with Christine's unforgiveness." I turned my head in his direction. He was gone.


	4. Being Watched

Rose's POV

An hour before the performance time, Christine and Meg both met me in our dorm to get ready. I think they could both tell something had happened when they were gone, because I was extremely jumpy from then on. I knew Meg thought it was just Buquet or one of the other stagehands that had messed with me, But Christine had other suspicions.

"Are you okay, Rose? You're pretty jumpy."

"I'm fine." I replied. Meg left to get her costume that she left in the prop room, leaving me with Christine. Something that I feared would happen.

"Rose?" She asked me.

"Yes?"

"The stagehands didn't play a trick on you did they?" It wasn't an inquiry, but a doubtful question. I didn't reply. I couldn't lie to her, it wasn't right. Instead I stared at my reflection in the mirror and looked at Christine pinning up her hair for her prima donna role. When she was done, she turned to me and looked at me with concern. I closed my eyes tight to avoid her gaze that was causing me to feel so guilty. I felt fingers on my neck as she pried away the collar of my ballet costume. I gasped and tried to slap away her hands, but she already pulled it down and exposed the bruises on my neck. She took a sharp breath and backed up, pointing at my throat.

"He- he did that! How could he?! He- he…" she didn't finish her sentence and rushed out of the room with tears in her eyes. I finished my makeup and my hair hurriedly and pulled on my shoes, then ran as fast as I could to the chapel. By now I had known where all of the statues were and maneuvered around them, making my descent to the chapel that much faster.

Christine was not in the chapel like I expected her to be, but I was glad that she wasn't. I collapsed by the stained glass window and cried until I couldn't cry anymore.

"She- she saw the bruises. She's upset with you." I wasn't sure if he was even there but I said it anyway. There wasn't exactly a response to that statement anyway, so I didn't expect anything. Even then, the silence made me angry.

"I- I…" was all I could get out. I couldn't finish the sentence unless I had a death wish.

I ran out of the chapel just in time. The ballerina's were gathering backstage. I went to one of the mirrors from the prop room and looked at myself. I was generally the same looking, except my face was red. I took deep breaths and waited as the rose color left my cheeks.

"One minute!" One minute. One minute until our first performance. One minute until Christine walks onstage to claim her role as the prima donna. One minute until Carlotta will be forgotten. I feel a clench in my stomach and wonder if it is nerves or jealousy.

The ballerinas all line up in the wings, ready to go onstage. I run to take my place with them at the back of the line. When we go on, I take a deep breath and close my eyes. I walk to my place and open my eyes. I freeze and miss the first few steps of the song. I start dancing with less confidence than I do during rehearsals, going over every step in my mind as the song continues. I finally get calmer when the last notes come to a close.

There were so many people! Sitting in the satin lined seats, looking for any mistakes, maybe whispering into their neighbor's ear. How many of my mistakes did they see? The ballerina's trot offstage and wait for their next part. I look around for Christine; she is supposed to be going on next. I see a curly mass of chocolate hair bobbing up and down amongst the chorus girls and push through people to get to her.

"Christine," I say when I reach her. "Good luck." She gives me a faint smile, not even looking at me, but my collar.

"Nobody did this to me, if that's what you think. I tripped on the stairs." I said, trying to calm her before she was center stage. Her eyes softened and her shoulders went down as I told her this. She smiled fully to me and told me thanks before hurrying onstage.

When the performance was over, I went to my dorm and changed into a simple blue day dress. As I walked toward Christine's dressing room, I saw Raoul enter with a big bouquet of flowers I assume he snatched from the managers. I knew I would have to wait for him to finish, so I waited outside her room and rolled the fabric of my skirt between my fingers. When he did leave, almost everyone had cleared out and most of the halls were empty. I knocked and heard a faint 'come in' as I grasped the handle. Christine was sitting at her vanity with a look of pure happiness spread across her face.

"Did you see him, Rose?" she asked with a smile touching her lips.

"I did. And just what did he ask?"

"Oh, he wants to take me to dinner, Rose! But I-I..."

"You should give him a chance. You're not getting anywhere cooped up in here all the while."

Oh what would I get for that? She looked at me with a smile plastered on her face, probably contemplating on what to do. Slowly, she started to nod.

"You know what, you're right. Will you help me pick out a dress?"

"Sure." We sat in front of her dresser and flipped through all of her gowns, picking a light green floor length evening gown. I sat at her dresser and waited for her to come out from the privacy screen while she changed. No phantom so far. He probably won't come out while I'm here.

"What do you think?" she said, walking out from the privacy screen. I turned around to face her. She looked absolutely beautiful.

"You look amazing!" I beamed.

"Good."

"One more thing…" I said moving to the vanity and picking up a teal colored hair clip. I swiveled back toward Christine and clipped it in her russet curls. "There." I stepped back to get a full look of her. Now, she was perfect. She moved to me and gave me a quick hug before bidding me goodbye and walking out the door.

I went to look for Meg, but failed to find her, so I grabbed my cloak and headed to the park across the street. I started to hum a song, started to sing softly, and ended up singing at the top of my lungs, humming the men's parts.

_No one speaks  
Not one word  
But what words are in our eyes_

_Silence speaks  
Loud and clear_

_All the words we want to hear _

_At the touch of your hand-  
At the sound of your voice-  
At the moment your eyes meet mine-_

_I am losing my mind  
I am losing control  
Fighting feelings I can't define  
It's a sin with no name  
No remorse and no shame  
Fire, fury and flame_

_Cos the devil's to blame_

_And the angels proclaim  
It's a dangerous game_

I walked in the park for another hour. Feeling another's eyes upon me, I drew my cloak tighter around me and headed back to the opera house.

**Oh My Gosh! Who was watching her? It's so hard to guess! :) Sorry for not uploading! I've got a lot of other things going on including school, writing two other things, and finishing a book, SO MY FRIEND WILL GET OFF MY BACK ABOUT IT! I also just finished writing a song with one of my friends, so don't blame me. Compared to other fanfics, this is a considerably reasonable uploading pace. Hopefully more updates soon! Oh, and I've recently fell in love with a little musical called Jekyll and Hyde! AMAZING! Okay, I'm done ranting. Luv you guys for putting up with my insanely long author's notes!**


	5. My Savior

**You must go check out this amazing collage that grapejuice101 made! Rose is based off of an actress named Sabrina Carpenter. **

**HERE'S THE LINK: ****www. polyvore cgi/set?id=120486208**

**Speaking of awesome people, I found what is possibly my favorite phanfic. You must read it! It is a great story!**

**A Twist of Fate by PhantomWriter44**

Rose's POV

It's a strange feeling, to be watched. You can't see the person, yet you know they're watching your every move. That's what it felt like when I was being watched.

As I walked back to the opera, I heard footsteps behind me. I craned my head backwards, but saw no one. I kept walking, but couldn't shake the peculiar feeling that was gathering in the pit of my stomach. To get my follower off of my trail, I took several turns down a few allies. Now, I'm glad I agreed to go shopping with Meg a couple weeks ago. My legs started to burn because I had started to run in my panicky state, so I stopped to catch my breath.

Another body slammed me against the wall, knocking the breath I had just wedged in my throat back out. My head banged against the brick wall of the ally, causing my vision to become blurry. I squinted my eyes and tried to see the person in front of me, trapping me against the wall, but failing.

"Well, what is a pretty girl like you walking around the streets at night for? A pretty voice too, I wonder what it will sound like when it's screaming for mercy…"

"Please…" I started to say, but the man clamped a hand over my mouth.

"Nothing to scream for yet, darlin'" he said, moving closer to me, his face inches from mine. I scrunched up my nose as I smelled the alcohol stench seeping from his mouth. I could finally see him clearer as he was inches from me. He had long scraggly blond hair and dark eyes. I tried to pull away, but he yanked me back, jarring my arm in the process. I yelped in pain, tears rushing to my eyes. _Why… why did this have to happen to me?_

"Mmmm… you're a beauty." He said, tracing the outer edges of my dress and moving to the back, starting to unbutton it. I screamed into his hand ant aimed a kick at him, but he yanked something from his belt. Tears fell down my cheeks as I felt him press the knife to my arm, cutting a long, deep slash into my arm and drawing blood. I screamed as another jolt of pain went up my other arm.

Pain… pain… pain… was all I felt coming from my arms as the man pulled away my dress piece by piece. I closed my eyes and imagined another place, another time… my own time. Suddenly it all stopped. I opened my eyes, but did not see home. I closed my eyes again and listened for any signs of that horrid man coming back. I heard nothing. The pain in my arms grew too much to bear and the edges of my vision turned pitch black, gradually eating away into the center of my vision before I lost consciousness.

Erik's POV

I was sitting on the edge of the roof of the opera when I heard a voice. It was beautiful. A full pure voice that had much confidence. I decided to investigate, as it wasn't even coming from in the opera house. This made me wonder why this woman, whoever she was, didn't already work as a performer. _A good rival to Christine,_ I chuckled to myself.

_I am losing my mind  
I am losing control  
Fighting feelings I can't define  
It's a sin with no name  
No remorse and no shame  
Fire, fury and flame_

_Cos the devil's to blame_

_And the angels proclaim  
It's a dangerous game_

I followed the last notes to the park across the street. Perhaps she was working at an opera house. I'd never heard her, if my hunch was right and she worked at my opera. When I got to the entrance of the park, I saw no one. Why would she leave that fast? The identity of this mysterious singer was nagging at me too much to turn down, so I looked around further.

I had almost given up when I heard a muffled scream coming from a nearby ally. I quickened my pace and started at a fast jog toward the location. A man was towering over a woman, tearing off her clothing and holding a knife to her. I quickly slipped my Punjab out of my sleeve and fastened it around the man's neck. I may not care about many things, but rape was something I was not going to stand for. I had gone through it multiple times at the gypsy that I was imprisoned at camp until I was fed up with it; and then comes my Punjab. I still have nightmares about it. Nobody deserves it.

The girl was unconscious when I picked her up and found the identity of my mysterious singer. It was Rose! I picked her up along with her discarded clothes, thanking god he hadn't gotten to her undergarments, and ran to the opera house, going to the only place I trusted her to be safe.

Rose's POV

I woke with a searing pain traveling up my arms. I looked at my arms as they came into focus and saw clean white bandages tied tight around my wounds. Why had he bandaged me? I looked around dreading to see that alcoholic having another go. I was surprised to see a room that looked suspiciously like the main room from the Phantom movie. I shot to my feet and gathered the clothing that was set on the table next to the elegant swan shaped bed that I was previously lying on, instantly regretting it when my head spun violently and I fell back on the bed.

I heard footsteps and quickly rebuttoned the top of my dress back on just as Erik walked into the room carrying a tray.

"You shouldn't have gotten up so fast." He said, placing the tray on the table next to me. He took one of the cups off of it, poured tea into it, gave it to me, and repeated the process for himself. I took a sip of the scalding liquid, not even caring about the heat burning at my throat as it went down. Erik opened his mouth as if he was going to say something when I cut him off.

"Please, can we not talk about it?"

"Of course." He said, taking another sip of his own tea. He then placed his cup back on the table and looked at me.

"I didn't know you could sing." I blushed.

"I-I don't really."

"Nonsense! You are quite good." I blushed an even deeper red. _The _Phantom of the Opera thought I was a good singer. I wondered how many phangirls dreamed of this.

"I-I… um"

"Will you sing a song? I only heard the end of the other one."

"Um… okay, like what?"

"Any song." I thought for a moment. What song would I sing to the Phantom?

"_But as I peruse_

_This world we abuse_

_It's hell that we choose_

_And heaven must lose_

_Evil is everywhere_

_Good doesn't have a prayer_

_Good is commendable_

_Evil's dependable_

_Evil is buyable_

_Good's unreliable_

_Good may be thankable_

_Evil is bankable_

_Evil's for me_

_You can have good_

_It doesn't suit me to be Robin Hood_

_It's easier by far from the way that things are_

_To remain good and evil_

_Than try to be evil and good!"_

Erik was on the edge of his seat, with a look of amazement spread across his face. Oh God, I did badly.

"That was… amazing." He finally managed to say. _Did he just say_ _**amazing**__?_

He seemed to snap out of it and looked back at me. "Change. Music room. Now."

_WAS HE OFFERING LESSONS? _I'm surprised I could hold in my squeals.

**I'm sorry if you hate me for putting Rose through that, but I didn't want it to be too predictable for you guys. I know this was really early because I was really happy with one of my reviewers! You know who you are! READ and REVIEW please!**


	6. More Auditions

Rose's POV

My arms caused too many questions. The only people I've told what happened are the unavoidable. Madam Giry, Christine, and Meg. Madam Giry made up an excuse to tell the cast and both Christine and Meg have promised not to talk about it. My bandages were able to come off after about two weeks, but the cuts left behind a scar that will be there forevermore. Erik only gave one lesson, which I was disappointed about, but I knew he felt guilty for not only teaching Christine.

He did encourage me to audition for a main part in _Il Muto_. I don't know if I'm ready to perform in front of that many people. The most people I've ever sang in front of was at our school's talent show, which only held about one hundred people. I'm going to audition anyway, just too see what happens.

Christine only wants to be in the chorus, although why she does is a mystery to me.

"Come on, Meg!"

Meg promised she would come with me to help with my nervousness, but at this rate I'm going to be late.

"I'm coming!" she said stumbling out from behind the privacy screen and to the dresser, pinning her hair up as she went.

When we got to the stage where the auditions were taking place, I just wanted to go somewhere and hide. There weren't very many people, but I felt like I was going to mess up in front of them. I had to suffer through Carlotta's audition before my turn finally came up and I think I'm half deaf now. I walked on to the stage slowly, took my place center stage, and mustered a weak smile before I started a capella.

_Hands touch, eyes meet,__  
__sudden silence, sudden heat__  
__hearts leap in a giddy whirl.__  
__He could be that boy__  
__but I'm not that girl__  
__Don't dream too far, don't lose sight of who you are,__  
__don't remember that rush of joy.__  
__He could be that boy,__  
__I'm not that girl__  
__Every so often we long to steal,__  
__to the land of what might have been,__  
__but that doesn't soften the ache we feel__  
__when reality sets back in__  
__Blithe smile, lithe limb__  
__she who's winsome,__  
__she wins him,__  
__dark hair with a gentle curl,__  
__that's the girl he chose__  
__and heaven knows,__  
__I'm not that girl__  
__don't wish, don't start__  
__wishing only wounds the heart,__  
__I wasn't born for the rose and the pearl,__  
__there's a girl I know,__  
__he loves her so,__  
__I'm not that girl.__  
_

Yes, I know I changed a few words slightly, but they were true. Meg and the other managers stared at me with their mouths slightly agape. I knew it meant I did well, but they were making me a little bit uncomfortable. After a few moments of stunned silence, Firmin cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Um… Thank you Miss Rose. Results will be posted backstage in an hour or so." He said turning his attention away from me and to everybody else in the wings. Meg ran up to me with a broad smile on her face.

"I didn't know you could sing!" I didn't answer, but instead asked her if she wanted to grab Christine from our dorm and go out for lunch. She agreed and we headed to our room.

"Christine! We're going out to lunch! Do you want to come?!" Meg yelled through the doorway. No one answered. I was worried, but Meg just rolled her eyes.

"Probably in the graveyard again." It surprised me that Meg didn't know Christine well enough to recognize that she only goes to the cemetery in the evenings. Meg turned and headed toward the lobby of the opera house, but I lingered a little longer searching for any telltale signs of where Christine might have gone. My eyes remained locked on the mirror that hung on the opposite end of the room. This isn't the dressing room, but there are supposedly hundreds of passageways, so I wouldn't doubt my theory.

"Come on Rose! She's not here!" I heard Meg call from behind me.

"Coming!" I yelled back. The truth was, I wasn't coming until Erik showed himself. I knew he was there. I know what it's like to feel watched. I shivered, pushing the horrible memories aside. He must have known I wouldn't leave until I saw him, because a few minutes of intense glaring later, the silhouette of a tall man appeared behind the glass. The only thing I could distinguish clearly from the shadows was a white mask. I slowly turned and exited the room, following Meg's attempts to get me to come from the room without her having to come all the way back. Christine was safe with him.

"Finally! What took you so long?" Meg asked, waiting for me near the main double doors.

"I had to touch up my makeup." I quickly made up the excuse. She gave me a funny look, but said nothing.

An hour or so later, all of the girls who auditioned for a main role were gathered backstage awaiting their results. I held my breath as a young stagehand read off the results.

**Mwaaahaahaahaa! Cliff hanger! Have fun guessing who will be who! Anyways, read and review!**


	7. That Phantom of the Opera is There

Rose's POV

I held my breath as the stagehand read off the results.

"The Countess will be played by La Carlotta Guidicelli." Carlotta let out a sigh of triumph.

"Serafimo will be played by Miss Rose Johnson." I let out my breath. Carlotta gave me an evil sneer from across the stage. She did this. The Pageboy… How could I have gotten the Pageboy?

I blinked away tears and ran offstage to my dorm.

Erik's POV

I crouched in the rafters above the stage and watched the auditions for Il Muto. I covered my ears and flinched as Carlotta ruined a once beautiful song. It fascinated me to no end that people actually enjoy her singing. I took my hands away from my ears and thanked God that I wasn't deaf after that nightmare.

They called Rose's name next. She walked to center stage and smiled weakly. Her cheeks turned bright pink as she started singing. She did well, singing as I taught her. I felt a twinge of guilt as I thought about our lesson. I shouldn't have offered to. I should be training Christine's voice, and only hers.

Yes, Rose did well, but I was intrigued by her song of choice. She looked up at the rafters as if she knew I was there and poured emotion into her words. Her words shook and she looked away as she sang a few lines.

_Dark hair, with a gentle curl_

_That's the girl he chose_

_And heaven knows_

_I'm not that girl_

The managers and audience just stood stunned. I just smiled. It was funny how they never expect anything from anybody from the chorus. There are a few diamonds in the rough; you just need to know where to look. They obviously don't know where to look.

"Um… thank you Miss Rose. Results will be posted in an hour or so."

With that being said, I stood up and headed toward the tunnels. Perhaps I'll go find a good bottle of wine from the cellars.

As I walked down the tunnels I heard Christine singing to herself in her room. It caught me off guard and got me sidetracked as I started walking in her direction instead of the cellar. She was dancing around her room with her hair down swinging all over the place. I chuckled to myself as she tripped over her own feet and landed laughing on her bed.

I couldn't help myself anymore. After seven years of Christine not knowing I exist in any other form other than her angel of music, my heart was starting to ache. How long could one bear thing like this? No longer than seven years, I told myself.

"_I am your angel of music,_

_Come to me, angel of music"_

Christine looked up and around the room.

"_Angel I hear you. Speak, I listen. Stay by my side guide me._

_Angel of music, hide no longer._

_Enter at last, master."_

"_Flattering child you shall know me._

_See why in shadow I hide._

_Look at your face in the mirror._

_I am there inside!"_

"_Angel of music guide and guardian,_

_Grant to me your glory!_

_Angel of music hide no longer, _

_Come to me strange angel!"_

"_I am your angel of music,_

_Come to me, angel of music!"_

Christine walked toward the mirror slowly, with glassy eyes. She was so beautiful. All other thoughts slipped away as I opened the mirror and held my hand out to her. She took my hand and stepped into the tunnel as I shut the mirror behind her. Just then, the door flew open and I flinched as it hit the wall.

"Christine! We're going out to lunch! Do you want to come?!" I heard Meg yell from the hallway. "Probably in the graveyard again." She muttered to herself.

Rose stepped into the room and looked around.

"Come on Rose! She's not here!"

"Coming!" Rose hollered in response. She didn't move. Her eyes lingered around the room and landed on the mirror. Her eyes locked with mine and although I knew she couldn't see me, I knew she wouldn't leave until she saw that Christine was with me. With a silent sigh, I lit one of the torches that were nearby and the flames illuminated the tunnel, almost blinding me in the process. I always left all of the lights out because I had grown so accustomed to the darkness and I could read a book in the dark if you asked me to.

As soon as the torch lit up, Rose turned slowly on her heel and walked away down the hall. I turned to Christine who was still staring at me through cloudy eyes. She looked fascinated. Hypnotized, she was, technically, but fascination was of her own accord. She started to sing again, her voice like that of an angel that was surely from heaven. The only flaw was me. The monster and the angel. Who'd have thought?

"_In sleep he sang to me,_

_In dreams he came._

_That voice which calls to me,_

_And speaks my name._

_And do I dream again?_

_For now I find,_

_The Phantom of the Opera is there, _

_Inside my mind."_

I sang with her. Like two strands of melodies, at last, after seven years, entwined.

"_Sing once again with me,_

_Our strange duet._

_My power over you, _

_Grows stronger yet._

_And though you turn from me, _

_To glance behind,_

_The Phantom of the Operas is there,_

_Inside your mind."_

When we got to my lair, after crossing the lake in my gondola, I started to sing a song that I'd written a couple of years ago, when she turned fifteen. I'd met Rose via this song. Strange how songs feel like they lose their purpose for the person they were written for and feel like they are instead reserved for another person. This song had lost its meaning for Christine and given to… I snapped myself out of reverie and walked over to the curtain that had concealed Christine's wedding gown. She followed behind me slowly, taking every step deliberately and slowly although she was half conscious.

She stared for a moment. I'm not sure if she even understood what it was until a few seconds of comprehending. When she did understand, her eyes rolled back and she fell backward. I caught her just before she hit the damp floor of rock and carried her to my swan bed.

"_Help me make the music of the night."_

I spent the rest of the night finishing Don Juan, for it was nearly complete. Hours upon hours I worked until morning. That was when I heard Christine awaken.

"_I remember there was mist._

_Swirling mist upon a vast glassy lake._

_There were candles all around,_

_And on the lake there was a boat._

_And in the boat there was a man."_

I heard her walk toward the organ that I was sitting on and held my breath.

"_Who was that shape in the shadows?_

_Whose is the face in the mask?"_

I felt her fingers on my face, crawling their way toward my mask. I didn't realize what she was doing until it was too late…

**So, now that our school musical is done, I'll be updating more often than I have been. Hope you like this chapter. I'll update soon because I know I left you a cliffy.**


	8. Misplaced Loyalties

Erik's POV

I placed my hand over my face and turned away from her, pushing her down in the process. She saw my face. It was too late. She saw the horrible, awful face that caused even my own mother to be disgusted by me. Fear of what she would think soon transitioned into anger. Seething anger. She betrayed me! My Christine, whom I've taught relentlessly for years, came here and tore away the only protection I had from a cruel world that can't see beyond looks. I turned back to her for a moment; my hand still pressed to my right cheek. She was cowered on the ground, tears in her eyes, curled in a ball and scooting away from me. She brought this upon herself; she was the one who took my mask.

"_Damn you,_

_Curse you._

_Stranger than you dreamt it;_

_Can you even dare to look_

_or bear to think of me?_

_This lonesome gargoyle,_

_who seems a beast but secretly_

_dreams of beauty secretly, secretly…_

_Oh Christine..."_

She looked up at me, fear still evident in her wide brown eyes, and handed me my mask with a trembling hand.

"Come, those two fools who run my theater will be missing you." I sighed, placing my mask over the twisted flesh that was to be my face. What would happen now? Would we just continue our lessons like nothing ever happened? I looked at the trembling form of Christine still sitting on the ground curled in a ball and decided it wasn't likely. I pushed these thoughts aside and helped Christine up and rowed her to the other side of the lake.

She left. She didn't look back, she didn't say a word; she just left. I helped her onto the shore and led her to the mirror and she scurried out of the tunnels with a resonating _clang_ as the mirror shut behind her.

I sank to my knees and buried my head in my hands, crying. The tears gathered in my mask and I had to take it off before the salty fluid irritated my exposed flesh.

"Erik?" Rose's voice drifted through the mirror that was opening slowly. I shot up and replaced the mask on my face, composing myself.

"Yes?" I asked, not facing her.

"I saw Christine… She looked frightened… What- what happened?"

"She saw me, that's what." I said, clenching my fists until my nails cut little half-moons into my palms.

"What?"

I turned to her, no longer being able to control my anger, and yanked off my mask. I regretted so the second I did and tried to place it back on, but Rose grabbed my wrist. She didn't run, she didn't scream, she didn't even look the slightest bit phased. She just looked.

"This is why she ran. This is why everyone runs from poor Erik." I said, taking a deep breath.

She ran her other hand along my deformed cheek. I closed my eyes and relished in the thought that anyone dared to look, let alone touch my twisted flesh. I then gasped as I felt her lips on my own.

"I see a beautiful person" She said into the kiss.

"What?" I asked. I must have heard her wrong.

"Beautiful." She repeated.

I'd never kissed anybody before. My mother hated me and when I asked her for a kiss for my birthday she told me she would rather die before she whipped me and sent me to my crude pile of hay that sufficed for my bed in the attic. This came naturally, though. No experience was needed.

At first it was a kiss that lovers shared, caring and meaningful, but then it turned into something… more. There was a fire that erupted between us as our kisses became more fevered and desperate. I kept forward, pressing her against the wall of the tunnel and placing my hands flat against the stone on either side of her head. She gasped and tried to get out of my grasp. I forgot that only less than a week ago she was pushed against a wall, being taken advantage of. I stepped back to offer her some space.

"I'm sorry." I said, and disappeared through one of my trapdoors, hating myself for nearly losing control over a simple kiss. But it was more than a simple kiss. It was that of lovers gave each other. I smiled as I walked into my lair and sat at my piano bench. I had a suspicious feeling that she might be a little bit more than one of my only friends.

Rose's POV

I gasped as I felt the damp stone press against my back. Erik, still kissing me, pushed me against the wall with his weight and placed his hands next to my head. My thoughts flashed to that night in the alley. It was no longer Erik standing in front of me, but the drunken man with his blade in hand. I whimpered and struggled to get out of his grip. To my relief and surprise, the drunkard pulled away and apologized before reality came back and I realized it was Erik. He was gone by that time; disappeared into one of his many trapdoors. The trapdoor lover I thought ironically at one of his nicknames.

I opened the mirror again and stepped into the dressing room where Christine had come back and was also standing. She looked at me like a crazy person and my heartbeat sped up. I imagined what I must look like. My hair was probably a mess and my lips were still swollen. I don't think that would leave a great impression in her mind.

"Hi." I said and brushed past her to go back to our dorm. She stared back at me with a strange look on her face that I couldn't comprehend and I smiled.


	9. Caught in the Trap

Erik's POV

The next few days went on painstakingly slow. Christine's lessons had been discontinued, as she made it perfectly clear that she no longer wanted me in her life. I stayed in my lair and composed for hours at a time, stopping only to eat once or twice.

I didn't dare go up into the opera house for fear of running into Rose and losing myself again. I poured all of my emotions into my songs. Don Juan was nearly completed. At first it was for nobody. Ten years ago, I started an opera that I was positive would never be heard by any other ears other than my own, let alone it be meant for anybody.

Then came Christine. Christine. She must have been sent from heaven. An angel in which I had been graced enough to meet. That morning, though, ruined everything. That morning when she looked upon me in fear and horror. I knew then that she wasn't an angel. Angels, I'm quite sure are not capable of causing such pain. Pain that claws at your heart so much that it kills you on the inside and you are that much closer to death.

Then Rose came from… the future? I'll admit, sometimes I wonder if she is just pulling a stupid prank, but it seems beneath her. Future or not, I love her all the same. _Love? _Is that really where I am again? Fallen in love with a girl whom won't love me back? But then, if she wouldn't love me, why would she kiss me? After seeing how hideous I was, why would she even stay near me? I put these thoughts, among others out of my head as I started composing the last song of Don Juan, The Point of No Return.

After about three more hours of composing, I heard a noise. One of the alarms for my traps was going off. I rolled my eyes and got up the piano bench that I had been sitting on for the past three days. After all of my recent stunts, more rumors than ever have been going around about me. It's probably just a ballerina or a stagehand trying to prove my existence.

As I wrapped my cloak around me, Nadir came waltzing in. Great. The last thing I need right now is that Persian milling about my business.

"What are you doing here, Daroga?" I asked rather irritably.

"I thought I'd drop by, seeing as I haven't seen you for weeks. I believe you've got a ballerina in a fix, Erik."

"As if I don't know that." I said. "You need to keep a look out if you live uninvited under your own opera house and drop props on their main singer. Put a pot of tea on while I'm gone, will you? This will only take a few minutes." I said, grabbing my Punjab from a nearby table.

* * *

Rose's POV

I haven't seen Erik for three days. Not that I expected to see him face to face, but Christine hasn't gone to any lessons lately, either. We haven't spoken lately; Christine and I, I mean. I can tell that she's sort of jealous, but why should she be? That man has loved her for five years at least, and you turned him down because you thought he was ugly. Really? Who does that?

I went through the Rue Scribe entrance because Carlotta had come back to claim her dressing room and I didn't know how to open the one in our room.

It was extremely dark as I walked down the tunnels and I instantly wished that I had brought a candle or lantern, but I didn't want to go back now just because of a bit of darkness. I groped the walls to help me find my way I kept walking for a while until I heard a _click_ and lost my footing.

I only fell for a short time before I splashed into a pool of water. _Deep_ water. I swam up and choked out water that had gotten stuck in my lungs from the sudden submerge under the cold water. That's when I saw the iron grate come down toward the water. _God no!_ I knew what to do, but I wasn't so sure that I was strong enough to do it.

Taking a breath, I swam underwater, looking for a lever of some sort, but found none. _Now what? _I looked up through the murky water to see the portcullis almost in the water. I kicked my legs and broke the surface just fast enough to get one breath before it submerged into the water.

_It makes sense that he wouldn't have a way out. Why should Erik care if anyone dies? They were sticking their noses where they didn't belong._

I was nearly out of breath and my lungs were screaming for air. From now on, I'm sure I'll have a new appreciation for oxygen; I just need to get some in my burning lungs for the time being.

My body had almost given up on me when I saw the faint outline of a figure walk up and pull a rusty lever at the edge of a tunnel above the water. The portcullis raised out of the water. _Yes, yes, yes! _I swam up to the edge of the shore, ignoring my lack of energy. I would do anything if only I could get air into my body.

I coughed up water that had gotten into my lungs when my body forced me to try and take breaths underwater. I took a shaky breath before getting my air supply cut off again from a length of rope.

"Come to find the opera ghost, have you? Well, you found him, happy? Ballerina rats… you'd think they'd have some common sense…"

"Erik…" I wheezed, using the last of my energy to push away the hair covering my face.

"Oh God." Erik said, loosening the noose and untangling it from my neck.

"Rose, what are you doing down here?"

I didn't reply; I was too busy taking greedy breaths of air after the rope was pulled away. Erik tried to get me to stand up, but when he realized that I couldn't, he picked me up into his arms and started scolding me.

"Why did you come down here? You could have died, had I not come in time."

I didn't reply. I know now what it feels like to almost die. The whole prospect of death doesn't seem to intimidating until you're actually faced with it. I was so scared. I still didn't reply, but buried my head into his chest and let tears slip down my face.

When we entered Erik's lair, I was surprised to hear another voice come from the main room.

"You're back finally, Erik, I had begun to… Who is this?"

Erik didn't respond but rather looked down at me and asked if I could walk. I nodded weakly. My legs didn't feel so weak anymore. I wiped the tears from my face and took a couple of shaky steps toward who I believed to be Nadir, and held out my hand.

"My name's Rose." He took my hand and looked at Erik with an awestruck look painted across his face. I wasn't surprised at his reaction, considering Erik wasn't one to be expected to have company very often.

"And just how do you know Erik? I'm sure it wasn't a normal greeting…"

"I'll admit it was a bit out of the ordinary."

"Put another cup out, Persian, it's rude to gawk." Erik said, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction.

We all sat at the little table in the kitchen. It really was only meant for two people, but Erik pulled up another chair to one of the corners. I sipped on the tea slowly, not bothering to attempt to cool the drink.

I felt rather out of place as I listened to the two men talk. They spoke of the opera and recent political news (recent for them, of course), slipping into another language that I imagined to be Persian once in a while. I saw that Erik hardly touched his tea and encouraged him to drink some. He took a sip and grimaced as his mask rubbed at his upper lip.

"Won't you take the damned thing off? It's causing you pain."

Both of them looked at me, surprised by my language. I knew it was unbecoming of a woman back then to curse, but it made me irritated to see that Erik thinks he needed to wear his mask around me. Nadir shot me a warning look that clearly stated _you shouldn't have said that_, but I rolled my eyes at him and reached across the table to take off Erik's mask. He didn't try to stop me as I slid it off of his face and placed it in the center of the table.

"You didn't forget that you're beautiful, did you?" I asked as I landed a kiss on his malformed cheek.

Nadir stared from the other side of the table, gaping, all the while. It was quite amusing to see his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide.

"Close your mouth Daroga, you'll catch flies."

"I believe, Erik, you've either found a very wonderful girl, or a blind one." He said.

* * *

**Awww… I hope she's not blind! So summer vacation starts Monday and hopefully I'll be able to upload a bit more. Hopefully… I write these chapters on the fly, so I'm open to any suggestions or things you want to see. I will be adding Raoul sometime soon, as recently I have been neglecting both him and Nadir, hence the reason Nadir entered so late. Please review! :)**


	10. Trying New Things

Rose's POV

After Nadir left, Erik brought me back to the floor level of the opera. I went back to the dorm and tried to find something to amuse myself. I dug around in my purse, and found nothing when I bumped my iPhone and a light flooded the bag.

"What?" I said to myself. I grabbed my phone and saw that it was indeed lit up and fully charged.

"Hey," I shoved the phone in my bag and turned toward the voice that belonged to Christine.

"Hi." I said back.

"Meg and I are going to lunch with Raoul. She asked if you wanted to come too."

I honestly dreaded the thought of meeting Raoul. The fop, I mean. The man who constantly and I mean _constantly, _calling Erik an abhorrent demon. No, I didn't want to see Raoul, but I had no excuse to say so. I had to.

"Fine" I sighed, dropping my purse on the dresser and following out of the room. We walked in silence and I couldn't help but wonder what Christine was thinking about. Was she thinking about Raoul? Was she thinking about me and Erik? My mind wandered off to wonder if Raoul had proposed to her yet. I hadn't seen him around at all. I snuck a glance at her left hand and didn't see anything. Oh well.

"So who is Raoul? I don't believe we've met…"

Her eyes lit up. "That's right! You haven't met him! He's wonderful! I think you'll like him."

_Right_, I thought.

When we got to the foyer, I saw Meg talking with Raoul. Christine walked up and held Raoul's arm. Meg seemed to be happy when she saw me coming and headed to me.

"My God, I'm glad you're here. You have no idea how boring it is to converse with him, if that's what you call conversing." She whispered.

"I'm sure I'm not any better."

"Sure."

Raoul walked up to me and held out his hand, smiling. "Who might this be? I haven't met her yet."

"I'm Rose." I said, taking his hand.

"She's a new ballerina. She just came a little less than two months ago."

I can't believe it's been two months already. I felt a bit guilty from not missing my friends and my family as much as I probably should be, but I've been super sidetracked.

"Come on, Rose!"

* * *

After lunch, Christine stayed with Raoul and Meg went to visit her mother. I feel bad for stereotyping Raoul so much. He was quite nice and polite. Not once did he say anything rude or imply anything rude either. He was super nice and really just an overall good person. I hate the way everything in the future makes him sound awful. That is probably the end of ever writing any fanfictions about an evil Raoul.

I had nothing to do, so I stayed behind and got my phone out of my bag. Hopefully this time I won't be interrupted.

After a couple of failed games of Flappy Bird, I decided to look through my camera roll. It surprised me how many pictures I've taken- around three thousand.

"What is _that_?" I heard somebody ask from behind me.

I jumped and faced the voice, holding my phone behind my back. My shoulders slumped back down and I became less tense when I saw it was Erik.

"It's a phone."

"A phone?" It was kind of funny, the clueless face that he wore.

"Yeah… um, you use it to talk to people who are far away, or take pictures, or play games…"

"Play games? On that thing?" I took it from behind my back.

"Well, it's not a game that _you _play, but you…" I sighed. "It's super hard to explain."

"May I see?"

I bit my lip. Would this mess anything up?

"You have to promise to keep this to yourself. I don't want to mess up time or whatever."

He nodded. I arched my eyebrow.

"I promise." He said. I took the phone out from behind my back.

"It's really cool."

"Cool?"

"I need to carry around a dictionary… Cool means fun or amazing or something along those lines."

"Ah."

I pressed the home button and flopped on the bed. He sat on the edge while I tried to get YouTube up. No connection. Duh. I worry for my sanity sometimes. Plan B. Flappy Bird. This ought to be interesting…

"Here." I said, slipping the iPhone into his hands. "You have to tap every time you want the bird to go up." I said, pointing to… Is that a duck? I've never questioned it. "You have to go through those little holes in the pipes."

"Why? What's the point?"

"I don't know, it's supposed to be fun."

He shook his head as he died three times in a row. "I prefer music."

I grabbed the phone back from him. "It has that too!"

Jokes can't kill people, right? I scrolled down through my albums and tapped Phantom of the Opera, then tapped Music of the Night. Erik jumped as the song flooded from the speakers.

"See, I told you…" He grabbed the phone and looked at the screen in wonder and fear at the same time.

"These people are stalkers." I giggled.

"Did you write any of those songs down?" I asked.

"All"

"That'd be the reason, then. This guy, Gaston Leroux went down there later. I don't know if he actually got into your lair, but he went down there." I skipped the part of him finding Erik's skeleton, because I figured it would be a bit freaky. "That's where he came with the story of Phantom. He claimed it to be true, but nobody believed him. I didn't either quite frankly, until recently."

He handed me the phone back, a shocked look still present on his face.

"You said you can take pictures?"

"Yes, it's like having a portrait, but it's real life. Wow, I'm really bad at explaining things. Here." I put the screen facing us and took a picture. It wasn't a good picture, Erik was just staring into the camera and I was almost breaking out in giggles, but it was only to demonstrate. I'm still never going to delete it. Ever.

"See? Easier to do it than explain."

He looked at the screen.

"Do you have any other pictures?"

"If we looked at them all, we would be here all night."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I have all night."

"Fine."

For the rest of the night we looked at pictures. I think we were almost through them all when I drifted off.

* * *

**WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?**


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